£30 a night for a carpark😡

[alcam]

UK Motorway Services have been a rip off since the first one opened up, unfortunately.

In fact, they are the perfect example of brass-neck profiteering!

You would think so but , apparently , these sites are hugely expensive to operate and not the cash cows we , mostly , think.

 

[Rammy62]

We recently parking overnight at the Falkirk Wheel, £15 including showers, water, chemical disposal, now that's reasonable.
Will never pay more than £10 for any parking, but as this is a 'Wildcamping' group that is what we do as often as possible, using the app and google street view.
Our MH is only 6m, I suppose on depends on the size of your van.

 

[Nabsim]

Are you members of either of the clubs? Because both main clubs have hundreds of small 5 van sites right through the country. Some are around a tenner a night. We've never needed to stay a a motorway services in 14 years of motor homing. Even when the ground is wet we've been allowed to stay on the hard floor of the farmyard itself.

Neither of the two big clubs are set up for the convenience of motorhomes and camper vans. I say this because you have to pre book a pitch, you cannot just turn up, pay and go unless it’s during the day and often before 17:00

 

[Scotia]

Free carpark at Bonchester Bridge £3 If you want EHU. gave them £200 they were that delighted at our donation the fed 3 of us for two days and poured Guinness down my throat gave Christina several bottles of wine and Niamh as much J2o as she wanted, gave the dog water and treats even put the TV on so we could watch the rugby.

 

[Nabsim]

We recently parking overnight at the Falkirk Wheel, £15 including showers, water, chemical disposal, now that's reasonable.
Will never pay more than £10 for any parking, but as this is a 'Wildcamping' group that is what we do as often as possible, using the app and google street view.
Our MH is only 6m, I suppose on depends on the size of your van.

Vehicle size may have a bearing for real big ones but I have been in my 7.8mtr motorhome with a mate in his 7.5tonne converted DAF truck and we have had no problem parking up to sleep.
I have stopped overnight a couple of times on motorways services when I have just been too tired to carry on, Westmorland and Oxford services. Had to pay both times but both places gave you vouchers for food which reduced true cost to around a tenner I think. That’s fine, I could have chosen to pull off the motorway and find somewhere if I really wanted to. Most if not all services now provide good hot showers as well.
I don’t find many problems off grid stopping, I think it’s more if you want to be in popular spots it may be you struggle

 

[Nabsim]

Free carpark at Bonchester Bridge £3 If you want EHU. gave them £200 they were that delighted at our donation the fed 3 of us for two days and poured Guinness down my throat gave Christina several bottles of wine and Niamh as much J2o as she wanted, gave the dog water and treats even put the TV on so we could watch the rugby.

Is that a typo, £200 for two days or was it a hotel lol

 

[Scotia]

Is that a typo, £200 for two days or was it a hotel lol

Not a typo .

 

[barryd]

Neither of the two big clubs are set up for the convenience of motorhomes and camper vans. I say this because you have to pre book a pitch, you cannot just turn up, pay and go unless it’s during the day and often before 17:00

This is a big issue when touring in the UK. I dont really use sites but prefer CL sites but they can be an even bigger nightmare to book than sites. Half the time you can never get hold of anyone or they dont answer emails and if you are touring about there may be only two or three choices in a large area you are heading to. I like to do a bit of planning but last year when we toured just in the UK I spent hours ringing or emailing ahead often with no response. You could of course take pot luck with a CL and hope its not full or someone is around but its a big risk here.

This is why I would like to see the laws completely relaxed here so we can have private aires like they do in many parts of Europe. Small motorhome only sites if you like. Maybe a two acre field that takes twenty or thirty vans and you just turn up. When its full its full. So much easier. Its all rules and regs galore here.

 

[witzend]

This is a big issue when touring in the UK.

Never mind France is open again now Barry

 

[alcam]

Vehicle size may have a bearing for real big ones but I have been in my 7.8mtr motorhome with a mate in his 7.5tonne converted DAF truck and we have had no problem parking up to sleep.
I have stopped overnight a couple of times on motorways services when I have just been too tired to carry on, Westmorland and Oxford services. Had to pay both times but both places gave you vouchers for food which reduced true cost to around a tenner I think. That’s fine, I could have chosen to pull off the motorway and find somewhere if I really wanted to. Most if not all services now provide good hot showers as well.
I don’t find many problems off grid stopping, I think it’s more if you want to be in popular spots it may be you struggle

Are you sure about these prices ?
If it was £10 (after food voucher) I'd stop when doing a long haul . I usually check prices and don't remember seeing food voucher being offered .
As far as I know services must provide showers now

 

[GMJ]

We use MWay services for the toilets and for a place to park up so we can drink our flask of coffee. If in the UK I'll buy a newspaper in there; if abroad we usually pick up fresh bread if we are en route to somewhere.

Occasionally we might have something to eat (take it back to the MH) if it suits us that day, meals-wise. This happens when we are on our way home usually as it saves us worrying what to cook for tea when we get home.

 

[Wooie1958]

This is a big issue when touring in the UK. I dont really use sites but prefer CL sites but they can be an even bigger nightmare to book than sites. Half the time you can never get hold of anyone or they dont answer emails and if you are touring about there may be only two or three choices in a large area you are heading to. I like to do a bit of planning but last year when we toured just in the UK I spent hours ringing or emailing ahead often with no response. You could of course take pot luck with a CL and hope its not full or someone is around but its a big risk here.

This is why I would like to see the laws completely relaxed here so we can have private aires like they do in many parts of Europe. Small motorhome only sites if you like. Maybe a two acre field that takes twenty or thirty vans and you just turn up. When its full its full. So much easier. Its all rules and regs galore here.

We now given up using CL`s and CS`s after our last experience when we just fancied a few days away recently and wanted EHU.

We might have been unlucky but their prices have gone through the roof with 3 of them asking £25 a night when i rang to pre-book.

Hardstanding, EHU 6amp, water and CDP ( lift manhole cover ) is all they have and their excuse is you know what ................................ Covid.

Allegedly, they have incured great expense to make them Covid compliant so they are sorry but the extra expense has to be pass on.

What a load of bollocks, we drove into one of them in the car on the way to Blackpool pretending we was lost and the only Covid compliant extra i saw was a bloody hand written sign on cardboard asking people to stay 2 meters apart and only 1 person at a time use the CDP, no queing.

I also counted 9 motorhomes, at least 6 of them were hired because they had the hire companies details on them on an alleged CL ( 5 van ) site in there with extension cables running here, there and everywhere.

Simple fact is ............................................... they are taking the piss.

 

[mblinko]

The underlying problem might be because the country is too small. If it was all free and readily available, they would be full all the time with responsible and irresponsible motorhomers and other forms of traveller the councils dislike. As for motorway services, the owners are profiteering punks. In Europe, all forms of traveller are properly catered for and money is not the motivation.

 

[barryd]

Never mind France is open again now Barry

I know, its tempting. Im just not sure I want to take old Hank the Tank over the Alps or Pyrenees again and new (well recent) used vans that tick all the boxes are like rocking horse £$%^ at the moment.

 

[barryd]

We now given up using CL`s and CS`s after our last experience when we just fancied a few days away recently and wanted EHU.

We might have been unlucky but their prices have gone through the roof with 3 of them asking £25 a night when i rang to pre-book.

Hardstanding, EHU 6amp, water and CDP ( lift manhole cover ) is all they have and their excuse is you know what ................................ Covid.

Allegedly, they have incured great expense to make them Covid compliant so they are sorry but the extra expense has to be pass on.

What a load of bollocks, we drove into one of them in the car on the way to Blackpool pretending we was lost and the only Covid compliant extra i saw was a bloody hand written sign on cardboard asking people to stay 2 meters apart and only 1 person at a time use the CDP, no queing.

I also counted 9 motorhomes, at least 6 of them were hired because they had the hire companies details on them on an alleged CL ( 5 van ) site in there with extension cables running here, there and everywhere.

Simple fact is ............................................... they are taking the piss.

I reckon we are in for a shock this year if you are booking anything with EHU considering it will have pretty much doubled in price and some by April compared to last year. Pitches without EHU will be sought after I suspect so no doubt they will also go up.

 

[Fisherman]

I reckon we are in for a shock this year if you are booking anything with EHU considering it will have pretty much doubled in price and some by April compared to last year. Pitches without EHU will be sought after I suspect so no doubt they will also go up.

The prices are already out for this year with the two large providers Barry.
As far as I know they are set in stone for this year. You may be correct about some private sites though.

 

[barryd]

The prices are already out for this year with the two large providers Barry.
As far as I know they are set in stone for this year. You may be correct about some private sites though.

Is that for club sites though? Presumably CLs can put their prices up whenever they like?

 

[Fisherman]

Is that for club sites though? Presumably CLs can put their prices up whenever they like?

To be honest Barry I am unsure on that one, but I think you are correct. But if they did increase their prices to much, then they would lose much of their viability with regards to price differentials between them and larger better equipped sites. But in saying that they seemed in many cases to have done so already. Many used these small sites due to their lower costs, but this has been eroded in recent years.

 

[witzend]

I know, its tempting. Im just not sure I want to take old Hank the Tank over the Alps or Pyrenees again and new (well recent) used vans that tick all the boxes are like rocking horse £$%^ at the moment.

Yes all understood Barry, I live nr Plymouth so would rather pay the ferry cost than camp site costs and it's easy to spend a month in Brittany with very little mileage

 

[barryd]

Yes all understood Barry, I live nr Plymouth so would rather pay the ferry cost than camp site costs and it's easy to spend a month in Brittany with very little mileage

Nice and handy. We have considered doing Devon and Cornwall so I suppose if you are going to do that you may as well go to Brittany. Not sure what the ferry costs and times are from down your way though. Dover is a PIA but at least its a short crossing. We did the fast ferry from Cherbourg to Portsmouth once. That was brilliant.